C James

Very well done! I too had many theories throughout, but the ending surprised me. Very poigniant, and well done on coloring the scenes as well. Thanks you!

When I read this, I started with one opinion and then slowly had it chipped away as the story continued. By the end of it, I'd changed my mind yet again. Well done Graeme; that's very hard to do, and especially in a breif span. That's what I liked about this story; the many levels of complexity. I started out thinking well of Sharon, but before the end I thought she was very wrong. The ending... that was a heavy hitter. My take on it all? I'll sum it up with the old parable: the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.

I absolutely loved this! Brilliant, and original, and well executed. Well done, Jfalkon!

Excellent!!! This is both superbly done and funny as hell!

Very moving.. and sad. The constant changing of jobs, to me, is a sign that he was very unhappy on some levels. I think we know why. It's tragic that he made that final choice. My sincere condolences, Sam.

What's this about a cliffhanger!?!?!?!? This sounds like a job for the Cliffhangers are EVIL! Keep off that cliff!

Putting the anthology together is a lot of hard work. Our Anthology Coordinator, Graeme, has done a fantastic job, and I would like to invite everyone to join me in giving a big "Thank You!" to Graeme, and also to Steph, for techical help, and to shadowgod, for emergency repairs. Thanks also to the participating authors, editors, and betas. This anthology looks like a great one; its theme is "Deceptions". CJ

That can't be me.. just look behind the goat; that's a mountainside! And on that mountainside, i think I see some vertical spots! That's right, CLIFFS!! So, as we all know, I'd never go anywhere near a cliff, so that can't be me!

Happy Birthday, Benji!!! :2thumbs:

Tigers make me nervous... and we have two around here! :ph34r:

The shadowy one linked to a quiz in another thread, and one of them made me do a double-take, probably because of so much goat-roasting talk! Urmmm, I'm going to go hide now....

Well, that question 13 has nothing to do with me; that's a mountain goat, and we all know that I don't go anywhere near heights of any sort! Of course, I'm also of the opinion that kicking a bear in the balls is a very bad idea.

Hey now! There has to be something left to cover in later chapters! And BTW, chapter 4 is called "The Charter". I can't say what it's about (one must always fear the Echidna!), but I can give the title! Julie is the nominal captain, there to fulfill the legal requirement and get some diving in. Trevor doesn't take charters out to the spot off Bimini. Its sort of sacred ground for him, and it's dangerous; it's 20 miles offshore, BUT, that area is one vast shallow region. Those can be treacherous waters, not a good place to take charter guests to dive. Hi Elezbed, and welcome to the forum!! :2thumbs: It was indeed a chapter of transition; good call! Now, now, Bondwriter, you're just upset because Lisa said, in Chapter 1, "There is no Hell. There is only France." You can't blame me for that; Lisa said, it, not me! That does sound like a scary movie! Fortunatly though, scary stuff never happens in my stories. Yep, you're right! It's sort of like a commercial driver's license; in order to be paid to drive passengers, you need one. However, as owner, he can go out alone, or take friends, as long as no money is involved (except for expense-sharing). But, Trevor can't get his master's ticket until he's 18.

Yep, the entries for coffee and sinking. And are you implying that I stinketh? BTW, I added a photo of a cabin. They tend to be small, but a catamaran that size has more floor space than a far longer monohull. :-) And to Linxe and others, thank you for the flag links! I can't say what at this point, but I'd made a blunder on a flag in a coming chapter, and described one when meaning another. Ooops! Thanks!!

The Diver Down flag is VERY official in the U.S. It's mandated by law. This is true in some other countries as well, Italy being one. The Alpha flag is used in many areas of the world, but, it does not mean quite the same thing. It means that the boat is unable to maneuver (due to divers, in this case). One interesting thing I found; in US and Canadian waters, the "Diver down" flag: red, with a diagonal white bar, is the standard. In the Caribbean, it appears to vary. I've seen the "Diver down" flag used in the Bahamas. Generally, either the Alpha or Diver Down are used when divers are diving from the boat. They wouldn't be used, say, on a shallow-water wreck dive on a permanently marked and buoyed site, especially if the water had obstructions to make the presence of a boat unlikly. At least, that's what I've been seeing. Interestingly (and exasperatingly, for me) there are authoritative sites on the usage, and these sites don't agree. My feel at the moment is that for diving outside of North America, the Alpha flag and not the diver down flag would be used, but I am far from sure. Hrmm, seems to me that it IS in the glossary, right under "Coffee". (of course, it's possible that I just added it!) Generally, in US waters, one uses US standards and procedures, which take precedence over international rules. The good news is that they are similar. One example of the difference; in US waters, the Diver Down flag is required. In many countries, it appears that its the alpha flag, with a few exceptions. My own personal view; when in areas where they favor the alpha flag, fly both. And Tequila storage? Hrmm, one of those hundred-plus gallon water tanks might suffice. LoL BTW, there are no a new set of photos, one of a cabin and one of one of the helms, on the page.

Whoa!! Please, everyone, DON'T zap people for "nitpicking", even if they actually do it! I both WANT AND NEED comments, good and bad. It lets me know how things are coming across. Remember, I not only ask for, but beg for, comments, good and bad. They help me improve. (and I see Linxe's point; it *IS* confusing!) Linxe wasn't IMHO nitpicking, but even if he had been, it would have been fine!! So, please, save the post-negging for those miscreants who truly deserve it; the ones who accuse me of using cliffhangers! Thanks!! CJ

Has the Atlantis Page been useful? During beta, I was told that it helped to be able to better visualize Atlantis,so I decided to create that page. The reason is that Atlantis has an unusual design; a catamarn, and most people are unfamiliar with big cruising catamarans. The design itself is quite real; the Lagoon 55 (so named because it is 55 feet long)was the first modern cruising catamaran design, and was groundbreaking at the time. Only 20 were ever built. What I plan on doing is incorporating things as-needed to that page, and also specific things in the chapter pages, such as maps. So, anything anyone would like to see added? (and sorry, but no, I'm not going to give out Trevor's phone number!) Oh, and one other thing; scroll down the page and you'll see a glossary of some key nautical terms. If you see one in the story that's not there, just let me know and I'll add it. BTW, I know that no one has read that glossary yet, otherwise two of the definitions would surely have been mentioned in the forum.

He's planning to be on his boat a lot, because summer is the prime charter season. His father lets him stay aboard when he has charters. You are 100% right: a parent has full legal control of a minor's assets. Trevor's plans to move aboard are in chapter 2:

So, in addition to all your other evil ways, you're a scofflaw, too? Well, I should have known that you, of all people, would resist the good works of the Cliffhanger Police... Hrmmm! This gives me an idea! Maybe G.A. needs it's very own branch of the Cliffhanger Police? I hereby volunteer my services!

Ahh, but I said "by Tuesday". And, that fits for a post today. I do aim to resume Tuesday postings, and today was sort of the halfway point from Thanksgiving to next Tuesday. Oh, we'll be hearing about the charter with the surfer boy, just.. not for a bit. ;-) Yep, Lisa might be meddlesome, but that gives Trevor license to be the same. LoL! Joel is a good friend of his, and Lisa is pushing Joel away for the wrong reasons. Thanks Linxe! Yep, at this point in the story, Trevor is about to turn 17, and is at the end of his Junior year. There was a time jump of nearly a decade between the setting of the main part of the prologue and chapter one. I hope I didn't confuse anyone with that. The chapter length should be more standard from here on (with the exception of a few that are oversized).

Ahhh, but I do know who you mean, and trust me, I'm just waiting for the right time. Tsk, Tsk, Graeme... Let's look at the objective facts here; you were indicted by the cliffhanger police! This is a fact, is it not? Now, how on earth is this delusional? It is all fact, isn't it? Therefor, it would only be delusional to say otherwise, true? This indictment was for Heart of the Tree 24, as I recall, and most richly deserved! It's not my fault that your cliffhangers are so extreme as to get you in trouble with the law. I mean, heck, even shadowgod didn't end up with the police after him for LiS 26!

I would like to offer my everlasting thanks to Jan for telling me about that forum. And yes, here we have proof: Graeme is indeed fully eligible! And he's been indicted! I therefor move that we acknowledge his nefarious transgressions in the upcoming election. :king: If it would help, I can create a list of the most devastating cliffhangers that occured in his most recent novel: the vertigo-inducing The Price of Friendship. However, i recommend just reading it (It's an excellent story!!) Edit: on second thought, knowing how dangerous the Echidna can be when spoilers are involved, I'd best not make specific listings of the cliffhangers, lest he consider then spoilers. I can, however, generalize; there are extreme cliffhangers!

But, but, but, Changing Lanes is now complete, so there can be no cliffhangers in it! I also can't think of any cliffhangers in it whatsoever... Yep, Graeme is on the run from the law! I was shocked when i found out... see the indictment thread for the shocking details, along with a link to his indictment! (and seriously, I had nothing to do with his indictment) Graeme's cliffhangers are notorious at AD, and everywhere else on the net. And as for me, sorry, but only chapters 20 and later of Changing Lanes were posted during 2009.

Ah, but Graeme was indicted and is still at large! Therefor, this is very relevant! Surely we cannot condone such criminal behavior? As for eligibility; he's very eligible. For last year, as well as this year, any author who is a GA member is eligible for the King of Cliffhangers award; it's not just limited to what they post on GA.

Ahh, but I was unaware of his indictment, and I can prove it; The indictment occurred over a year ago. Had i known, does anyone at all think I'd have kept quiet about this during last year's awards elections??? I was shocked, shocked I tell ya, when a friend pointed me at that page and I saw that Graeme had been indicted and is on the run from the law!